1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device and, more particularly, to an LCD panel and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, various kinds of flat panel display devices have been developed. These flat panel display devices share the advantages of reduced thickness and volume when compared to a cathode ray tube. The flat panel display devices include liquid crystal display devices, plasma display panel devices, field emission display devices, and electroluminescent display devices.
An LCD panel generally includes a color filter substrate provided with a color filter array and a thin film transistor substrate provided with a thin film transistor array including a plurality of thin film transistors (“TFT”), a plurality of pixel electrodes and a plurality of signal lines. A layer of a liquid crystal material is injected between the two substrates. Thus, the process of manufacturing the LCD panel is completed. Such an LCD device displays a desired image by adjusting the amount of light transmitted through the panel at each pixel location. For this purpose an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal injected between the two substrates, the liquid crystal having an anisotropic permittivity and then the strength of the electric field is adjusted.
The liquid crystal of the related art LCD panel rotates through a predetermined angle relative to a pretilt angle established by an alignment layer or by slits formed on common and pixel electrodes, thus adjusting the amount of light transmitted through the panel. Here, a printing process is used to define the alignment direction of the alignment layer, and deposition and etching processes are required to form a slit pattern on the common and pixel electrodes. Accordingly, the number of processes is increased, which results in an increase in processing time and material cost.